Which Dive Seiko to wear as a daily watch ?

[sgoody1]

And do you think the hands should be relumed - or do they look right to the forum experts?

[rossr]

Jul 29, 2019 10:59:30 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And do you think the hands should be relumed - or do they look right to the forum experts?

People (like me) really like that natural patina. I would leave it as is. Relumed hands with an unchanged dial (don’t touch it) would look weird. Yes, it is well-used, but that’s how it should look. You will wear it naturally without coddling it. If the band is comfortable and secure, leave it as is as well.

[sgoody1]

Jul 29, 2019 14:25:18 GMT -8 rossr said:

Jul 29, 2019 10:59:30 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And do you think the hands should be relumed - or do they look right to the forum experts?

People (like me) really like that natural patina. I would leave it as is. Relumed hands with an unchanged dial (don’t touch it) would look weird. Yes, it is well-used, but that’s how it should look. You will wear it naturally without coddling it. If the band is comfortable and secure, leave it as is as well.

Thanks - I like natural patina too - and that's what drew me to the watch.  I am just not sure the lume on the hands - or the second hand in particular, is original, as it looks so green compared to the rest.  In fact I have just put it under a UV light, and the plots don't glow at all (not even when under the lamp), while the hands glow, and remain glowing.
So given it looks like they are either replacements, or have been relumed previously, would it do any harm to have an expert relume the hands again, but match the colour better?  Or is it just not worth it?
On the strap, it just looks so new, and its stiff - so not really comfortable - so I just wanted to know if its genuine, in which case I will try and get it to mould to my wrist, or if its fake, I will put on something else that is easier to wear.

thanks again for your help.

[Rod]

Jul 29, 2019 7:27:16 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

Jul 28, 2019 23:09:01 GMT -8 Rod said:

My daily wearer...bought it on special and have worn it most days since then,

Which reference is that one Rod?

Thanks Rod - which reference is that one?  And how much are they likely to be, from where?

I bought it when I was visiting Japan for around $450Oz, it's a SBDC033 they are often on sale at "Bic Camera" in Japan. The previous model is the SBDC003 and has a better (in my option) looking dial as it missing the X.

The SBCD031 is the black dialled version with a black bezel. 

www.biccamera.com.e.lj.hp.transer.com/bc/item/3227753/

page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b405386607

[69ChevelleSS]

Jul 29, 2019 10:28:31 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

Thanks - I am not sure what my next steps should be - get it serviced and hands relumed - or sell it, and invest in something else?

And do you have any thoughts on the strap - is it genuine - or should I swap it over for a DAL1BP that I have, or a Barton Elite Silicone Black strap?

It it were mine, I'd leave it as it sits and wear the heck out of it.  It has SO much character . . . . I'd love to hear the stories it could tell.

I would get rid of the modern strap and replace it with an Uncle Seiko vintage repro.

Uncle Seiko's Dive straps

[HiBeat]

Jul 29, 2019 6:55:43 GMT -8 earthphase said:

New green Sumo won't stop singing to me - starting to piss me off.

I flipped my SCSZ004 because it was just too much green !

Gorgeous watch I just couldn't pull it off.

[HiBeat]

Jul 29, 2019 10:28:31 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

Thanks - I am not sure what my next steps should be - get it serviced and hands relumed - or sell it, and invest in something else?

And do you have any thoughts on the strap - is it genuine - or should I swap it over for a DAL1BP that I have, or a Barton Elite Silicone Black strap?

This is a wavy vent strap. The original GL831 was a flat vent strap. To my eye this strap looks wrong

Like 69ChevelleSS says check out an Uncle Seiko GL831 reproduction. Super nice quality, trustworthy and cheap enough.

[ouroboros]

Jul 29, 2019 10:59:30 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And do you think the hands should be relumed - or do they look right to the forum experts?

I would have wanted to sit this one out but I've decided not to. . I'm no expert, just some stranger with an opinion.

The re-luming of hands should be done at the same time as the dial. If done in isolation, you need to be able to match the hands lume to dial which is no modest feat. You'll be scraping old lume from a collection of dials, grinding it to a fine dust and mixing it up with the right binder. At this point, I hope you can see the difficulty. The dial and the hands need to look like they belong together. Personally I lume both hands and dial (I'm talking applied markers here) and only if they look abused/neglected (abused is quite different from patina)

Now, your dial is one of those that I wouldn't want to attempt to re-lume until I have nailed the process to a level that I'm comfortable to reproduce the same result as the Seiko process of yore.

I think you should leave as is.

If you are feeling game, you can hunt the correctly patina'd hands to go with the dial. My reason for this is that the minute and hour hands are correct to each other but they have a different lume in comparison to the dial, maybe it's the light and I'm wrong. The seconds hand looks like it has been re-lumed already.

As a bonus, if you leave as is you can study the watch and save some money on the repairs. When another one, with no work required pops up, you can comfortably appraise based on your experience from the first watch and decide if it's the right one for you.

Forgive the long rant.

[sgoody1]

Jul 30, 2019 11:28:05 GMT -8 ouroboros said:

Jul 29, 2019 10:59:30 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And do you think the hands should be relumed - or do they look right to the forum experts?

I would have wanted to sit this one out but I've decided not to. . I'm no expert, just some stranger with an opinion.

The re-luming of hands should be done at the same time as the dial. If done in isolation, you need to be able to match the hands lume to dial which is no modest feat. You'll be scraping old lume from a collection of dials, grinding it to a fine dust and mixing it up with the right binder. At this point, I hope you can see the difficulty. The dial and the hands need to look like they belong together. Personally I lume both hands and dial (I'm talking applied markers here) and only if they look abused/neglected (abused is quite different from patina)

Now, your dial is one of those that I wouldn't want to attempt to re-lume until I have nailed the process to a level that I'm comfortable to reproduce the same result as the Seiko process of yore.

I think you should leave as is.

If you are feeling game, you can hunt the correctly patina'd hands to go with the dial. My reason for this is that the minute and hour hands are correct to each other but they have a different lume in comparison to the dial, maybe it's the light and I'm wrong. The seconds hand looks like it has been re-lumed already.

As a bonus, if you leave as is you can study the watch and save some money on the repairs. When another one, with no work required pops up, you can comfortably appraise based on your experience from the first watch and decide if it's the right one for you.

Forgive the long rant.

Thanks Ouroboros,

That all sounds good advice.

Attached is another picture, which hopefully shows the contract in colour of the hands better.

The minute and hour hands are not so bad, and as I understand it, can often fade differently to the lume on the dial.  However the second hand lume is definitely a much stronger green.

So I think your suggestion of trying to get another set of correct hands that more closely match the rest of the dial is great - but I am not sure if that is easy to achieve.

The other issue is if I get it serviced, and new rubbers etc - will it be a watch I can really wear in the sea - or is it something I should avoid - there seem to be mixed opinions.

I will post later my collection of dive watches, that has all got a little out of hand, and besides needing therapy, I think I should look to consolidate the collection and have maybe just one special watch as my collectible, to wear occasionally, and another that I can wear more regularly - I will be interested in this forums views.

Anyway - here is another picture of the 6309 in question...

[sgoody1]

And this picture show why I need to review my collection, and think about maybe just having one to wear, and one to cherish!??

Again - views on what I should do welcomed - maybe sell most of these and invest in one rarer one, eg a 6105-8110 (although I think they may be over-hyped), or a good 62 MAS? (or is that likely to be way over budget)

Help please - I need some direction!

[mikeyt]

For what it's worth, and it is worth exactly what you are paying for it, my opinion is: for now keep what you have.  If they all run, you have a nice rotation there.  Don't be too anxious to unload these.  Wear them and enjoy them.  

Everyday watch?  I'd be bored silly.  I rotate, or at least change every day or two.  Roughly a dozen watches, 3 or 4 Seiko divers, several micro-brands, a G-shock, whatever catches my eye in the morning.  I'm retired now, but I did basically the same thing when I worked as a machine builder.  Scratches?  Nicks?  They are tool watches.  I rid myself of anything that looked as if it should be a safe queen.

[GuyJ]

The hands need sorting, I'd telume as they have been already, just not that well matched to the dial or each other. Too pale. Too green. No, you dont need to relume the dial at the same time. Leave that.
Waiting for hands that match will take some time.
The strap is fake, looks too rigid and wrong.
The watch would be fine going for a swim with new seals aslong as no sign of pitting etc, but what is the point. Wear a modern watch that is replaceable, or no watch. All it takes is a knock of a crown or a seal to go bad and....well done you knackered your vintage watch.
Sell what you don't care about. Keep what you do.

Enjoy.

[ouroboros]

Jul 30, 2019 15:07:51 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And this picture show why I need to review my collection, and think about maybe just having one to wear, and one to cherish!??

Again - views on what I should do welcomed - maybe sell most of these and invest in one rarer one, eg a 6105-8110 (although I think they may be over-hyped), or a good 62 MAS? (or is that likely to be way over budget)

Help please - I need some direction!

That's a nice collection. The 6105-8110 is nice to have but for the price and rarity, it would be a crown jewel rather than a tool watch. I've not owned it so I wouldn't be able to comment on the merits or otherwise.

This is how my journey started, I thought to myself, the divers are a staple in a collection so I got one. Then added two chronographs (a single register (6139) plus a two register (6138)). At this point you wonder if the right choice is mechanical, automatic, solar or quartz. Then you look into acquiring another two dress watches (a gold one and a steel cased one - but then will they be both square or round cased?) ........... 

To be frank, how you put a collection together is a highly personal thing.

One thing to mention is that it gets to be an addiction, you'll start collecting the basic staples and before you know it you will be searching for different colours of the same watch, different hues, features, months, transitional models and it goes on and on. Then one day you get to wonder how many watches does a man need. Try as you might, you'll find it difficult to sell. The cycle starts again, you buy more boxes to store your stash.

[sgoody1]

Jul 31, 2019 9:24:10 GMT -8 ouroboros said:

Jul 30, 2019 15:07:51 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And this picture show why I need to review my collection, and think about maybe just having one to wear, and one to cherish!??

Again - views on what I should do welcomed - maybe sell most of these and invest in one rarer one, eg a 6105-8110 (although I think they may be over-hyped), or a good 62 MAS? (or is that likely to be way over budget)

Help please - I need some direction!

That's a nice collection. The 6105-8110 is nice to have but for the price and rarity, it would be a crown jewel rather than a tool watch. I've not owned it so I wouldn't be able to comment on the merits or otherwise.

This is how my journey started, I thought to myself, the divers are a staple in a collection so I got one. Then added two chronographs (a single register (6139) plus a two register (6138)). At this point you wonder if the right choice is mechanical, automatic, solar or quartz. Then you look into acquiring another two dress watches (a gold one and a steel cased one - but then will they be both square or round cased?) ........... 

To be frank, how you put a collection together is a highly personal thing.

One thing to mention is that it gets to be an addiction, you'll start collecting the basic staples and before you know it you will be searching for different colours of the same watch, different hues, features, months, transitional models and it goes on and on. Then one day you get to wonder how many watches does a man need. Try as you might, you'll find it difficult to sell. The cycle starts again, you buy more boxes to store your stash.

Thanks - I think I am not going to go for the 6105-8110 - I was looking at it, but now the prices asked seem to be out of kilter with what the watch is really worth - but I guess if a really good one came along, I might be persuaded!

You are right about this collecting thing, and I now do have a few boxes - I am a bit all over the place with what I have been buying - I see something I like, and then try and hunt it down, and now have amassed quite a collection, including a Pogue, a Lord Matic, a Bell Matic, and an issued 7A28-7120 - and thats just my Seikos!!

In fact tonight, my wife asked me exactly how many watches do I have, and I just mumbled and quickly left the room, hoping she will get distracted by something else!

My collection is almost all Vintage, and I feel I should maybe have one modern Seiko to wear, and am being drawn to the SBDC051 or 61.  I am going to find an opportunity to try them out, as they both wear quite differently.  And one of my vintage divers may go to part fund it, and make me feel I can justify the purchase, given I probably now have too many very similar ones.

[sgoody1]

Jul 31, 2019 2:04:00 GMT -8 GuyJ said:

The hands need sorting, I'd telume as they have been already, just not that well matched to the dial or each other. Too pale. Too green. No, you dont need to relume the dial at the same time. Leave that.
Waiting for hands that match will take some time.
The strap is fake, looks too rigid and wrong.
The watch would be fine going for a swim with new seals aslong as no sign of pitting etc, but what is the point. Wear a modern watch that is replaceable, or no watch. All it takes is a knock of a crown or a seal to go bad and....well done you knackered your vintage watch.
Sell what you don't care about. Keep what you do.

Enjoy.

Thanks Guy,

I am going to wear it a bit first, and decide if I connect with it or not.

Following your advice above, and other Forum members suggestions, I have just removed the old strap and fitted an Uncle Seiko GL831 that I had on another watch.

Am now wearing it, and so far, so good!!

I am trying to hunt down an SBDC051 or 061 as the modern watch for holidays etc, that can be replaced, but I think look really good - will probably want to try and find a pre-owned, to keep the expense justifiable!

Thanks again for all your help.

[Mr.Jones]

Jul 30, 2019 15:07:51 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

And this picture show why I need to review my collection, and think about maybe just having one to wear, and one to cherish!??

...

Help please - I need some direction!

You're absolutely right, you need to review your collection - just one slim case diver has to be enough! Simple. Just pick one. Can't be that hard, can it??

...

[sgoody1]

Mr Jones
Are they all yours?
That makes me feel so much better, or is it that we need the same type of counselling / therapy?

[Mr.Jones]

I think we are well beyond therapy... Containment, maybe. Appeasement.

[sgoody1]

Jul 28, 2019 21:59:10 GMT -8 bradurani said:

Well, you've named watches here ranging from $700 to $5,400. That's a pretty big range in price!

I will say this: The SBDC051 is a big step up in build quality from the SKXs. It's constructed much better, it's heavier, has crisper lines, tighter tolerances, and just feels like a much nicer watch. You can also manual wind it if you need to, and the crystal is sapphire instead of hardlex

Thanks

That (the SBDC051) is the one I am being drawn to - but I do want to try it on first.

And do you think its likely to pop us pre-owned at a discount to new?  (Or have any been and gone that you know of).

[Rod]

Jul 31, 2019 14:09:46 GMT -8 sgoody1 said:

Jul 28, 2019 21:59:10 GMT -8 bradurani said:

Well, you've named watches here ranging from $700 to $5,400. That's a pretty big range in price!

I will say this: The SBDC051 is a big step up in build quality from the SKXs. It's constructed much better, it's heavier, has crisper lines, tighter tolerances, and just feels like a much nicer watch. You can also manual wind it if you need to, and the crystal is sapphire instead of hardlex

Thanks

That (the SBDC051) is the one I am being drawn to - but I do want to try it on first.

And do you think its likely to pop us pre-owned at a discount to new?  (Or have any been and gone that you know of).

I've a thing for blue watches and own the SBDC053 which again was bought in Tokyo on special.. Seiko tend to discount the blue dialled watch and hold steady on the black dialled ones  I can attest to these being a very comfortable watch and the strap is just supple but still hold its shape .